Category Archives: theological education

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What if the wineskin that God is preparing for His new wine is not white?

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About a year ago, I wrote the blog post: “What if God has stopped calling as many young people to traditional ministry?”  I want to add to that with this post and provocative question: “What if the new wineskin that God is preparing for His new wine is not white?”

For those who don’t know me or my context, up until about two years ago I served as a local church pastor for twenty-five years.  About two years ago, I took the role of Dean of Theology at Ambrose University and Seminary, where I oversee our undergraduate School of Ministry and our graduate Seminary.  Although, like almost all undergraduate ministry preparation programs in Canada, we continue to see a slow decline in our undergraduate School of Ministry (which we are actively pursuing innovative solutions for), our Seminary is experiencing a very different trajectory.  Over the last two academic years, we have experienced significant and unprecedented growth (50% increase in the number of students and 70% increase in the number of classes taken).  Yes…you read that correctly: 50% and 70%!

There are several reasons for this: increased online educational opportunities, Chinese language options, church-embedded options, mid-career callings, and international students coming to Canada (many with their families) in response to God’s calling.

As Canada’s population is projected to double in the next 25 years (largely due to immigration)[1], I believe God is preparing called and gifted men and women from all over the world to lead the church in Canada into its multicultural future.  From the quality of students at Ambrose Seminary, I am excited about the future of the Church in Canada. 

As Canada becomes increasingly multicultural, so must leadership in the Canadian Church.  God is answering our prayer for more men and women to serve; it just looks different than we expected.  May the Church have eyes to see what God is doing and continue to support the sails of Christian higher education as it prepares to catch the wind of the Spirit and propel it into the future. 

Please pray for Ambrose Seminary as we adapt and adjust to our growing and diverse student body.  We want to be adaptive to the changing context of God’s mission and calling as we serve the Church; God is calling the Church to use new wineskins for the new wine He is making.  Join me in praying that the Church embraces and celebrates the new skin and doesn’t look the same as it has in the past.  What if the new wineskin that God is preparing for His new wine is not white?

The challenge I see is a narrative that the problem with theological education in Canada is that we need to just get shiny new buckets (online education, etc.) to get more water from a well that is not producing what it used to (young male Euro-Canadian pastors and leaders).  Although this well has produced for decades (I was in this well), a shiny new bucket (online education, etc.) in a dry well doesn’t produce more water.  I think God is doing a new thing for an increasingly multicultural Canada.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not against new buckets.  I am a loud proponent of new and innovative church and theological education modalities.  I am an advocate of new buckets.  That said, God seems to be springing to life new wells for a new time, and the Church must adapt for its future.

This future will need churches and denominations to see New Canadian students and parishioners not just as people to reach and serve and reach but as people God has called and gifted to lead.  Just as the future of Canada is not Euro-Canadian, neither is the future of pastors and leaders in the church. 

I have Seminary students who want to serve in ministries and churches.  These students are some of the most qualified and gifted students I have met, but because of the colour of their skin or their accents, they don’t get callbacks from churches when they seek to volunteer or apply for ministry positions.  It is disturbing, but it is real.

When I talk to church leaders and tell them about what is happening at our school and update them about the increase in our Seminary, specifically about international students, it is often viewed as a distraction at best or illegitimate at worst.  It is frustrating, but it is real.

So…what if there is no pending leader and pastor shortage in the church?  What if the leadership shortage we have perceived is just because we are used to looking at an old well (young Euro-Canadian males) while God is bursting a new spring in a new well (non-white men and women from all over the world)?  As someone who teaches at the edge of that new well, I can testify that it is overflowing with godly, gifted, and called leaders; they just look different than they did in the past.

May Jesus help us to see how He, in His mercy and sovereignty, is answering our prayers!

[1] https://financialpost.com/news/economy/canada-population-over-million-last-year

article, Blog, theological education

What if God has stopped calling as many young people to traditional vocational ministry?

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In a recent meeting with national theological educators, we were musing about the reasons for decreased enrollment among young people in all our ministry training programs (across North America and theological traditions/denominations).  During the conversation, I asked the intentionally provocative question:

What if God has stopped calling as many young people to traditional vocational ministry?  And, what might that be saying to the Church?

In our rush to solve perceived problems, we often circumvent prophetic questions with pragmatic answers.  I believe this is one of those times.  In our rush to solve a pragmatic problem (one to which I am very committed to addressing), what if we have rushed past a much bigger question (a question worthy of deep reflection)?

Before we dive into this bigger question, let me address what the problem of decreased enrolment in undergraduate ministry training programs is not (at least not completely). 

First, it is not simply a marketing problem. If this were the case, you would not see this issue across so many schools and traditions, with enrollment decline progressing at the same rates and with consistent timelines.

Second, it is not simply a distrust of academia.  There is a wider societal movement of distrust toward higher education, but I am not convinced this is the only reason for the decrease in ministry training track enrollment across North America.

Third, it is not simply a case of rising tuition costs.  Although an issue that must be addressed, tuition increases are seen in all sectors of higher education.

Fourth, it is not school or denomination specific.  Almost all denominations and traditions are experiencing a decline in young people entering ministry training programs.  Whatever is happening, it is not micro.  It is macro.

Finally, the issue is probably some combination of the above with elements of the much bigger questions asked earlier.

Perhaps…

I would like to suggest a more provocative and prophetic view of this question for us to consider. Perhaps God is calling fewer young people (directly or indirectly) for one or more of these other macro reasons…

Perhaps…We have not been faithful with the ones we have had. 

What if we have not been faithful with the shepherds God has called and entrusted to us, the church?  A quick glimpse of the pastoral health statistics will show you that being a pastor is not an easy job.  Now I am not just talking about long hours and lack of pay (all of which are often true) but about unrealistic expectations they can never fulfil (preach like Steven Furtick, counsel like Henry Cloud, lead like Carey Nieuwhof, etc.).  What if we have not been good stewards of the pastors God has called, so God is not entrusting us with more? 

Perhaps…God is answering another prayer. 

The church has long lamented the staffing ratio to church attendance/membership (if it hasn’t, it should).  This has been growing consistently for years and is a sign of the increasing professionalism of ministry.  We have prayed for a reversal of this trend for years and, yet, we haven’t changed our behaviour (it has only worsened).  Perhaps God is forcing the church to go “cold-turkey” on its addiction to professional ministry.  Perhaps God is answering our prayers by forcing more and more lay people into active ministry roles.

Perhaps, what we are doing (in general in the church) is not compelling to young men and women. 

The church has not been known for its ability or willingness to have tough conversations about complicated social issues and address issues of justice (race, disability, environment, etc.).  Often the critique of the academy is that we are too focused on these issues, but, as someone who spends time in the classroom, these are the questions young people have, and they are very passionate about them.

Perhaps, we haven’t clearly taught about the call to ministry. 

In our good efforts to talk about the call of God on all people with the invitation to see their vocations as equal acts of worship and ministry, perhaps the pendulum has swung too far in this direction, and we have unintentionally downplayed the call to vocational ministry.  The Church must learn to do this intentionally as well as support young men and women who are exploring and pursuing that call.

Perhaps God is calling more women.

The percentage of young women pursuing ministry training continues to increase.  On the one hand, it is encouraging to see so many young women pursuing God’s call to vocational ministry and entering ministry training degrees and programs.  On the other hand, it is very discouraging to see extremely talented young women not given the same opportunities to lead as their young male counterparts.  Perhaps we have all the people we need for ministry positions; they are just not all men.

Perhaps God is calling more people from mid-career and vocational transitions. 

The trend of seeing fewer young men and women entering the ministry is countered by more mature adults pursuing vocational transitions into ministry. 

Perhaps young people are not ready to make significant career decisions in high school. 

This isn’t derogatory.  Young people are taking longer to decide what to do with their lives. It is a huge investment.  It is why I think Christian Universities and Bible Colleges need to design their first-year curriculum with this in mind, helping young people to discover who they are, explore their calling and discern what careers might be a good fit for them.

Perhaps, God is doing something new. 

Perhaps God is doing something bigger than our traditional methodologies can hold.  I am not saying this with resigned pessimism but with innovative optimism.  As new models and methodologies are being explored, God will lead in some creative and exciting directions.

Perhaps…

Let me know in the comments what you think might be missing here.

It’s Complicated

In the end, like most things, this issue is very complicated, and the answer is multifaceted.  I think the Church needs to speak more clearly on call, learn to care for its pastors better, partner with young people in the pursuit of vocational ministry, release more ministry leadership to women, embrace new methodologies and forms of church, etc.  And our theological schools need to address this in real ways by helping students to discern their call, building trust between the academy and the church, teaching students the needed competencies to serve faithfully in our complex world, and pursuing new models and methodologies for excellent theological education (if we trade excellent theological education for pragmatic expedience, the Church will suffer deeply) and ministry training that partners with and actively serves the Church.  Again, the answer is complex, and it will take the Church and the academy partnering together.  The problem is real, the solution(s) is complicated, and the need is now.